Decriminalizing the Act of Listening

Tuesday

Dec 25, 2012 at 6:15 PM

One of the strangest pieces of mythology that arose out of the shooting in Connecticut was the media-induced false story that the NRA retreated to a corner in embarrassment and shame, and then broke a week of “silence” to make a “defiant” statement. Since this myth was widely reported, one could only make a connection again between gun control advocates and a media with a liberal bias. Because the NRA and other firearms support organizations weren’t silent–they were listening. What was really happening last week was that the organizations interested in firearms policy were talking to stakeholders–organization members, manufacturers, federal government officials, state government officials, union officials, hunters–Democrat and Republican alike. What these organizations were doing was actually an act of taking the national pulse, gathering information, and sharing that information.

And only when that information was gathered and assessed and internalized was a “public” response formulated. What the NRA came out with wasn’t “lame” as the media termed it, but most likely a carefully formulated consensus. Those folks who perceived a period of “silence” were actually the small minority of Americans who don’t own guns, collect guns, work in firearms manufacturing, work in the unions that provide support to workers and so on and so on. It so happens that over the course of the week I received no fewer than six phone calls from people who know that I am a gun owner, that I represent gun manufacturers, that I participate in the media, that I have numerous contacts in government in Washington and Boston, etc etc. Didn’t seem real quiet to me, or that the NRA was sitting on its hands.

My point here is not necessarily to harp on what the firearms industry was doing, other than to note that it was not licking its wounds in a corner. The firearms industry was confirming that its support remained essentially unchanged from what it had been two weeks ago. In fact, the number of new gun owners in the past two weeks has grown by 500,000.

What was interesting was that the Obama Administration was not listening. It was engaged in a knee jerk political reaction, and it reflects an ongoing problem with this president. More than any other president in recent memory, Obama refuses to listen. He won’t talk to lobbyists, academics, policy experts or professionals. There is a hubris within this administration that borders on arrogance. In an era of rapid information and the internet, this administration seems to get ahead of the news cycle and public opinion, only to discover that being out front is not the same as leading. Sometimes, the guy in the vanguard is just the first guy to get shot. There was a time when a president would do exactly what the NRA was doing last week–he’d be taking the national temperature, talking to Congress, talking to the people, organizing focus groups, whatever. It didn’t happen after the shooting. It never happens.

In our society, deliberation is necessary. The speed of technology cuts down on the time for deliberation. A president once had months, then weeks, then days, then hours to respond to an event. In an era of a 24 hours news cycle, politics waits for no man. That is too bad. In our office, we have a policy that no one responds to an email until at least two hours after it is received. If the tone of a response is something you wouldn’t want to share with your mother, we require a sign off from a higher power than the author, until the buck stops with the highest possible responsible executive. And that executive can’t sign off until he or she understands the situation completely. It seems like common sense, but its not a policy that is widely found. Curiously, it doesn’t happen in the White House.

If the Obama Administration does nothing else in the next four years, it needs to learn to slow down, to listen. One of the advantages of John Kerry is that he is known to be one of the best listeners in Washington. The President could really learn something from him.

The President could also learn something from the NRA, that sometimes it makes sense to listen before you speak..

Rob Meltzer

One of the strangest pieces of mythology that arose out of the shooting in Connecticut was the media-induced false story that the NRA retreated to a corner in embarrassment and shame, and then broke a week of “silence” to make a “defiant” statement. Since this myth was widely reported, one could only make a connection again between gun control advocates and a media with a liberal bias. Because the NRA and other firearms support organizations weren’t silent–they were listening. What was really happening last week was that the organizations interested in firearms policy were talking to stakeholders–organization members, manufacturers, federal government officials, state government officials, union officials, hunters–Democrat and Republican alike. What these organizations were doing was actually an act of taking the national pulse, gathering information, and sharing that information.

And only when that information was gathered and assessed and internalized was a “public” response formulated. What the NRA came out with wasn’t “lame” as the media termed it, but most likely a carefully formulated consensus. Those folks who perceived a period of “silence” were actually the small minority of Americans who don’t own guns, collect guns, work in firearms manufacturing, work in the unions that provide support to workers and so on and so on. It so happens that over the course of the week I received no fewer than six phone calls from people who know that I am a gun owner, that I represent gun manufacturers, that I participate in the media, that I have numerous contacts in government in Washington and Boston, etc etc. Didn’t seem real quiet to me, or that the NRA was sitting on its hands.

My point here is not necessarily to harp on what the firearms industry was doing, other than to note that it was not licking its wounds in a corner. The firearms industry was confirming that its support remained essentially unchanged from what it had been two weeks ago. In fact, the number of new gun owners in the past two weeks has grown by 500,000.

What was interesting was that the Obama Administration was not listening. It was engaged in a knee jerk political reaction, and it reflects an ongoing problem with this president. More than any other president in recent memory, Obama refuses to listen. He won’t talk to lobbyists, academics, policy experts or professionals. There is a hubris within this administration that borders on arrogance. In an era of rapid information and the internet, this administration seems to get ahead of the news cycle and public opinion, only to discover that being out front is not the same as leading. Sometimes, the guy in the vanguard is just the first guy to get shot. There was a time when a president would do exactly what the NRA was doing last week–he’d be taking the national temperature, talking to Congress, talking to the people, organizing focus groups, whatever. It didn’t happen after the shooting. It never happens.

In our society, deliberation is necessary. The speed of technology cuts down on the time for deliberation. A president once had months, then weeks, then days, then hours to respond to an event. In an era of a 24 hours news cycle, politics waits for no man. That is too bad. In our office, we have a policy that no one responds to an email until at least two hours after it is received. If the tone of a response is something you wouldn’t want to share with your mother, we require a sign off from a higher power than the author, until the buck stops with the highest possible responsible executive. And that executive can’t sign off until he or she understands the situation completely. It seems like common sense, but its not a policy that is widely found. Curiously, it doesn’t happen in the White House.

If the Obama Administration does nothing else in the next four years, it needs to learn to slow down, to listen. One of the advantages of John Kerry is that he is known to be one of the best listeners in Washington. The President could really learn something from him.

The President could also learn something from the NRA, that sometimes it makes sense to listen before you speak..